Filiform guide



NOV- 12, 1940 F. cQHENDRlcKscN 2,221,138

' FILIFORM GUIDE V Filed June 15, 1938 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITEDSTABS PATENT oFFlcE 2 Claims;

The invention relates to the class of surgical instruments known asliform guides or bougies, used for the purpose of exploring and fortreating strictures of all kinds.

The object of the invention is to provide an unbreakable, smooth,non-injurious instrument, slightly less flexible than the standard typeso as to be more easily inserted into strictures.

Another object is to provide a iiliform guide having a tapered, metalcore made up of sections of ne wires, the Wires in succeeding sectionsbeing reduced in number so as to give the desired taper to the nishedarticle.

A further object is to provide such a core in which the central wire ofthe core is doubled and extends the full length of the guide to form aloop at the smaller end thereof, to retain the outer rubber coating inplace and provide a very small rounded point which will not injuretissues.

A still further object is to provide a guide of the character describedin which the wire core is first wrapped with silk or very thin rubberribbon or the like, and then dipped into latex rubber so as to provide acomplete coating of latex rubber.

Another object is to form the core of a mixture of spring or temperedwires and soft annealed wires, the spring wires tending to return theguide to straight form after being bent and also aiding in giving thefeel to the user in probing with the guide, and the soft annealed wirespermitting the guide to stay in any desired bent shape temporarily.

A still further object is to provide a threaded ferrule upon the largerend of the guide for connection to the end of a sound, although, ifdesired, the guide may be formed integrally upon the end of a sound soas to provide a sound or dilater having a liform guide as an integralpart thereof.

'Ihe above objects together with others which Will be apparent from thedrawing and following description or which may be later referred to maybe attained by constructing the improved liform guide in the mannerillustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure l is anelevation of the improved guide;

Fig. 2, an elevation of the wire core;

Fig. 3, an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the guide; and

Fig. 4, a further enlarged transverse sectional view thereof.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

The improved filiform guide to which the invention pertains is builtupon a tapered wire core formed of a plurality of fine wires indicatedgenerally at I0, some of the wires being spring wire and others beingsoft annealed wire so as to tend to return the guide to straight formafter (Cl. 12S- 358) being bent while at the same time permitting theguide to stayin any shape into which it may be bent temporarily, andalso aiding in giving the feel to the user in probing with the device.

For the purpose of giving the desired taper to the core, the wires maybe reduced in number in successive sections of the core from the largerend toward the smaller end thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 ofthe drawing.

The central wire of the core indicated at I I is doubled and extends theentire length of the guide having a loop I2 formed at the smaller end ofthe guide.

The wire core thus formed is then wrapped throughout its entire lengthwith silk, thin rubber ribbon or the like as indicated at I3 aftervwhich the wrapped core is dipped into latex rubber to form a latexrubbercoating over the entire device as indicated at I4, the latex coatingupon the wire loop I2 at the small end of the guide to form a very smallrounded tip or point I5 which will .not injure tissues when probing withthe guide.

The Wires at the large end of the guide may be soldered or otherwiseconnected as indicated at IS within a ferrule I'I which may beinternally screw-threaded as at I8 so as to be attached to the end of asound or the like.

However, if desired, the liform guide as above described may beintegrally attached to the end of a sound so as to provide a dilater orsound having a liform guide as an integral part thereof.

With this construction a guide is provided having the proper taper andbeingsufciently small to enter any restricted area while the centralwire extending to the tip of the guide and forming a loop provides areinforcement which prevents the tip from being accidentally broken off.

I claim: y 1

l. A iliform guide comprising a tapered core formed of a central wireextending the entire length of the guide and successively shorter groupsof wires surrounding the central Wire and successively decreasing inlength by substantially the length of the shortest group of wires, athin flexible strand spirally wound upon the wires and a flexible bodycovering the core.

2. A liform guide comprising atapered vcore formed of a central wiredoubled upon itself and extending the entire length of the guide andforming a loop at the smaller end of the guide, and successively shortergroups of wires surrounding the central wire, said groups of wiressuccessively decreasing in length by substantially the length of theshortest group of wires, and a flexible body covering the wire core andforming a rounded point over said loop.

FLOYD C. HENDRICKSON.

